Manchester City

Pep Guardiola, speaking after Man Citys 3-2 win over Aston Villa: We are legends. When you win the Premier League four times in five seasons its because ...

But my opinion of my players is exactly the same as it was in Madrid. The same." We were a little bit nervous, and struggled a bit to find the spaces. "The team is incredibly proud but we could have lost the Premier League today. "We had so many set-pieces but it wasn't enough to score a goal. We always believe until the end. "Gundogan is the best inside runner we have. "One team was a little, little, little, one inch better than them, but they are winners. "You have to be a good trier, do it every time, never give up. Guardiola added in his press conference: "Jurgen Klopp said a few days ago that there are few winners but a lot of triers. This is for the families. We will be remembered." "We are legends.

Manchester City showed rare vulnerability for a super-club but recovered to win the Premier League and send their fans into raptures.

In that moment he was no longer the world’s greatest manager, no longer the representative of a club or an ideology. The moment the ball hit the net, several hundred City fans immediately stood up and disappeared down to the concourse for a pint, a pie, a cry and a rethink of their life choices. Next it was Oleksandr Zinchenko with the presence of mind to cut the ball back, Rodri with the precision to find the bottom corner. And it felt strangely fitting that at its moment of triumph, Manchester City became its people again. Gündogan sprints for the far corner, pursued by his teammates, the cameras, most of the City bench and the sound of 50,000 people. Guardiola’s first words in his post-match press conference were to pay tribute to the victims. It was there from the first press by Gabriel Jesus, charging down the goalkeeper and forcing him to punt the ball straight out of play. That skittishness was there right from the start. Sometimes it can be hard to glimpse the human face behind this sprawling super-club, with its empire of satellites, its bottomless pockets, its frictionless passing triangles, the sense of something pristine and merciless that you will never quite be able to touch. As delirious fans hurdled the barriers and poured on to the great green expanse, as the goalframe into which City had scored three goals in five minutes caved and snapped under the weight of the throngs atop it, you could already sense the events of the afternoon passing into legend. That victory is the inevitable function of mental fortitude and warrior spirit, and defeat its opposite. The record books will simply log it as another City title: their fourth in five years, Pep Guardiola’s 10th, another silhouette to add to the mural.

Manchester City are set up to serve their manager, and close contact with key club figures is pivotal to his happiness.

Exhibit Two. Erling Haaland is 21, a serial goalscorer, and was available at a bargain price from Borussia Dortmund thanks to his circa €60m buyout clause. His response was not to sulk but to get on with the job. Twenty-three – in 2018-19 – is the only lower total under Guardiola. This made the trip more attritional (City secured a semi-final berth) and three days later the side were at Wembley to play Liverpool again, for a place in the FA Cup final (they lost 3-2). Then, after three victorious league games (Brighton, Watford and Leeds) and the home semi-final leg against Real Madrid, it was back to the Spanish capital. Publicly Guardiola’s mantra is that he has to win or the bell will toll for his tenure. Guardiola was not convinced that a 36-year-old was right for the side and so no move was made. But, although defeats are detested, more important to him is how the side perform because this is a function of the stability he and the club have in place. If this season is rated City’s finest for the excellence almost from first whistle to last, there is a recognition that for Guardiola and his staff the closing month or so was perhaps the toughest. The Guardian has been told the latter characteristic, in particular, is a great strength because it allows a sixth sense regarding his players, his side, the opponent and the sport. This is the story of a Manchester City title triumph that is about trust, faith, mutual respect, working in concert and, most of all, excellence. Guardiola is a man of high intelligence and sensitivity. It could not have had Sunday’s happiest of endings without Guardiola’s close relationship with Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the chairman, with whom he speaks before and after every match.

Gündogan scores twice as side come from two goals down against Aston Villa.

When Gündogan scored the winner, the City substitutes sprinted on to the field in delirium. But it was hard to ignore City’s vulnerability at the back. Olsen was making his first Villa appearance of the season, with Emi Martínez injured, and City had to ask some questions of him. City repeatedly ran into walls and it was Villa who finished the first half in the ascendancy. They began the second half with greater purpose, De Bruyne lashed high and Digne jumped into a saving block on Riyad Mahrez after a lovely Zinchenko run. But Villa quickened the pace when they worked a move up the left-hand side and, when Lucas Digne crossed, Matty Cash got the run on Joao Cancelo to flash a header past Ederson. How were Guardiola’s nerves now? The club had unveiled a statue to Sergio Agüeroooo on the Friday before last to mark the 10-year anniversary. Villa had wanted to manage the tempo, as Gerrard would have it; to waste time, as the City support would argue. Jürgen Klopp had claimed that it was all on City; Gerrard referenced it, too. But they were ready to buck the trend. For Guardiola and his players, there was relief and exquisite pleasure. Manchester City looked goosed, two goals down against Aston Villa with 76 minutes on the clock, knowing they needed three because, well, did anybody really think Liverpool would not beat Wolves at Anfield?

It's the latest in a series of incidents that have taken place this week during end-of-season pitch invasions; the FA says it's "very concerned" and former ...

"But attacking the opposition players on the pitch, where has this come from? "The FA will be seeking to do all that it can to work with clubs as well as addressing the issues from a disciplinary perspective." It's absolutely ridiculous."

As delirious fans hurdled the barriers and poured on to the great green expanse, as the goal into which City had scored three goals in five minutes caved and ...

In that moment he was no longer the world’s greatest manager, no longer the representative of a club or an ideology. The moment the ball hit the net, several hundred City fans immediately stood up and disappeared down to the concourse for a pint, a pie, a cry and a rethink of their life choices. Next it was Oleksandr Zinchenko with the presence of mind to cut the ball back, Rodri with the precision to find the bottom corner. And it felt strangely fitting that at its moment of triumph, Manchester City became its people again. Gundogan sprints for the far corner, pursued by his team-mates, the cameras, most of the City bench and the sound of 50,000 people. Sometimes it can be hard to glimpse the human face behind this sprawling superclub, with its empire of satellites, its bottomless pockets, its frictionless passing triangles, the sense of something pristine and merciless that you will never quite be able to touch. That skittishness was there right from the start. But none of this will really capture the utter despondency that gripped this stadium: the incoherence, the frustration, the rage and anguish of a team and its people staring into the abyss. As delirious fans hurdled the barriers and poured on to the great green expanse, as the goal into which City had scored three goals in five minutes caved and snapped under the weight of the throngs atop it, you could already sense the events of the afternoon passing into legend. From the muted cheer that greeted the news that Wolves had scored at Anfield. Nobody was getting excited because nobody was remotely enjoying themselves. That victory is the inevitable function of mental fortitude and warrior spirit, and defeat its opposite. The record books will simply log it as another City title: their fourth in five years, Pep Guardiola’s 10th, another silhouette to add to the mural.